Game Rules

The field will be set up in a manner similar to the diagram above.

The playing field is divided into single, double, triple and home run areas. Hits are determined by where the ball lands in the air–i.e., a ball that hits the ground first in the singles area is a single (unless fielded cleanly–see rule 6 below); a ball that lands in the doubles area is a double, a ball that lands in the triple area is a triple and a ball that lands beyond the triple area is a home run.

Only official Wiffle® balls and bats may be used, which will be supplied by the tournament organizers. Balls and bats may not be altered.

No base running. Imaginary runners only. On a hit all runners advance the same number of bases as the hit. On a walk, runners advance only when forced.

A strike is a swing and a miss, a pitched ball that hits the strike zone target behind home plate or a foul ball. Three strikes or three foul balls make an out. The strike zone target measures approximately 18″X27″ and is approximately 15″ above the ground. A pitch that hits the border or within the target is a strike. For changes that apply during the round robin, see rule 12 below.

A ball that misses the strike zone target is a ball, if the batter does not swing. Hit batters do not take a base; such pitches count as balls. Four balls is a walk. For changes that apply during the round robin, see rule 12 below.

A ground ball fielded cleanly (without any bobbling) while still in motion in the singles area is an out.

A fly ball caught before it hits the ground in either fair or foul territory is an out. A foul tip, if caught by the catcher, is an out only if the ball went above the batter’s head or on the third strike. A foul tip on the third strike that hits the strike zone target is also an out.

No bunting.

Fielders must be in the following positions before each pitch–pitcher on the pitcher?s mound in the singles area, catcher in the back of the batters box and one fielder in each of the double, triple and home run areas.

There is no restriction on the speed or type of pitches in the competitive division. In the recreational division, however, pitchers are encouraged to use their discretion in pitch selection based on the skill of their opponents. For example, if a high school or college male is pitching to a younger child or an adult, it would make sense to pitch more slowly in order to give the batter a reasonable chance to hit the ball (after all, we want everyone to have fun). On the other hand, if a high school or college boy is pitching against one of his peers, anything goes.

Teams will be grouped into four-team brackets and assigned to a particular field for the round robin. Each team will play every other team in the bracket once, insuring that every team will play at least three games. Here is an example of the games played in a round robin:

Game 1 – Team 1 vs. Team 2

Game 2 – Team 3 vs. Team 4

Game 3 – Team 1 vs. Team 3

Game 4 – Team 2 vs. Team 4

Game 5 – Team 1 vs. Team 4

Game 6 – Team 2 vs. Team 3

During the round robin, games will be two innings with no extra innings. Each batter will start with a count of one ball and one strike, so that three balls pitched outside the strike zone will be a walk and two strikes or two foul balls will make an out. If the score is tied at the end of two innings, the game will count as a tie. Wins count as three points and ties as one point. At the end of the round robin, each team should report its record in the round robin (wins, losses and ties as well as total runs scored) to the check-in table. The top 16-24 teams based on total points (or total runs in the event of a tie in points) in the round robin, as determined by the tournament officials, will advance to the single-elimination championship round.

In the championship round, games will be five innings and extra innings will be played in the event of a tie score at the end of five innings.

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